Men plead guilty to helping terrorists

Updated 11:08 pm, Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Photo: Uncredited, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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FILE - This Nov. 9, 2012 file photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office shows Syed Talha Ahsan, extradited in October 2012 with Babar Ahmad to the United States from Britain on charges they supported terrorists in Afghanistan and Chechnya by operating web sites to raise cash, recruit fighters and solicit items such as gas masks. Both men have hearings scheduled Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, in federal court in New Haven, Conn., to change their pleas. They had previously pleaded not guilty. The two men faced charges in Connecticut, where an Internet service provider was allegedly used to run one of the web sites. (AP Photo/U.S. Attorney's Office, File) less

FILE - This Nov. 9, 2012 file photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office shows Syed Talha Ahsan, extradited in October 2012 with Babar Ahmad to the United States from Britain on charges they supported ... more

Photo: Uncredited, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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This Nov. 9, 2012 photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office shows Babar Ahmad, extradited in October 2012 with Syed Talha Ahsan to the United States from Britain on charges they supported terrorists in Afghanistan and Chechnya by operating websites to raise cash, recruit fighters and solicit items such as gas masks. Ahmad pleaded not guilty on Oct. 6, 2012 and is detained while he awaits trial. Both men have hearings scheduled Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, in federal court in New Haven, Conn., to change their pleas. They had previously pleaded not guilty. The two men faced charges in Connecticut, where an Internet service provider was allegedly used to run one of the websites. (AP Photo/U.S. Attorney's Office, File) less

This Nov. 9, 2012 photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office shows Babar Ahmad, extradited in October 2012 with Syed Talha Ahsan to the United States from Britain on charges they supported terrorists in ... more

Photo: Uncredited, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Men plead guilty to helping terrorists

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NEW HAVEN -- Two British men pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that they supported terrorists by operating websites on servers in this country to raise money, provide resources and recruit Pakistanis to fight in Afghanistan.

Babar Ahmad, 39, admitted before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall that he helped establish and operate Azzam Publications, a series of websites that was "set up to propagate the call for jihad," according to one of the sites.

Syed Talha Ahsan, 34, pleaded guilty to processing orders for the group in early 2001 and making an electronic copy of a document that described the movements and weaknesses of a U.S. Naval battle group -- charges he had previously denied.

A former Navy sailor, Hassan Abu-Jihaad, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2009 for leaking the details about the battle group to the website.

"The court postpones acceptance of the plea pending further information," she said. "I don't feel I have enough information right now to accept it."

The men were among five British citizens extradited to the U.S. last year in connection with the terrorist scheme.

Sentencing for Ahmad and Ahsan was set for March 4.

The two men are charged with conspiring with and providing materials to terrorists who intended to commit an act "that would constitute the offense of murder, kidnapping or maiming" individuals, including American citizens outside the U.S. They are being tried in Connecticut because Ahmad rented space on a server owned by OLM, LLC in Trumbull for one of the websites.

The sites also sold audio cassettes of Muslim soldiers detailing their experiences on battlefield in Bosnia in the 1990s and video of battles in Chechnya.

During their hearings, Ahmad and Ahsan, wearing large, short-sleeved jumpsuits with off-white thermals underneath, were asked numerous times by Hall whether they understood the consequences of their guilty pleas.

Ahmad, who entered the courtroom with a smile, answered every question confidently. Under an agreement reached with U.S. prosecutors, he would be subject to a maximum sentence of 25 years, reduced from the 30 years set in law -- 15 for each of his two counts against him.

Prosecutors for the case said they planned to seek the maximum sentence. But Hall, in reserving judgment on his proposed plea agreement, didn't appear convinced that the crimes Ahmad committed continued after Oct. 26, 2001, when harsher maximum sentences for the terrorist crimes were enacted into law.

Ahmad's plea deal would also cap his sentence for supervised release to five years. He could also face a fine of up to $500,000 and a $200 court-assessment fee.

Ahsan could face similar fines, but because his crimes occurred before 2001, he faces a maximum 15-year sentence. His plea deal did not reduce the sentence, but prosecutors agreed not to object when he applies for permission to carry out his sentences in the United Kingdom and asks to be given credit for time he has already served. Ahmad's plea deal also allows him the same rights.

Before arriving in the U.S., Ahmad served nearly a decade in prison without a trial. He said in court that he was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder in 2009 and 2010.

If the men are not allowed to finish their sentences in the U.K., they are to be deported to their home country once their sentences end.

Stephen Reynolds, lead U.S. prosecutor in the case, said the government has proof that between 1997 and 2002, Ahmad had administrative control over several websites in servers across the U.S. that solicited money, gas masks and military suits for the Taliban. One website also encouraged Pakistanis to travel to Afghanistan to fight, and gave information on how to train for battle and how women could get involved in the jihad, prosecutors said.

Although he admitted to sending out orders of videos and other merchandise sold through the websites, Ahsan, wearing thick, black-frame eyeglasses, said he only had "general knowledge" of the sites and did not operate them. According to his attorney, Richard Reeve, Ahsan has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Throughout Tuesday's hearing, he frequently asked Reeve to explain what Hall was asking. Several times, Ahsan insisted that Reeve make it clear he only had a "mitigating" role in the terrorist scheme.